Oregon – Page 19

Mauricio Gugelmin

Mauricio Gugelmin, driving for PacWest Racing, waits in the pits during Friday practice at the 2001 CART race in Portland. This was his last year in not just IndyCars but in racing, I think big crashes of his own and others, combined with the death of a son with health issues, led to his retirement. I’m nostalgic for this era of racing in many ways but one thing I’m glad to see after being away from the sport for years, is how much safer the cars continue to get, and that improvement needs to continue.

You’re Number One! (But Please Reset Your Meter)

The sign that would be held out for Team Penske driver Gil de Ferran as he pulled into the pits at the 2001 CART race in Portland. He earned the number 1 by winning the championship the year prior, and for good measure would win it that year too. I could use signs like this to help me get ready in the morning. “Pants first, then shoes!”

Knock Knock

Jimmy Vasser, driving for Patrick Racing, gives an interview at the end of Friday practice for the 2001 CART race at Portland International Raceway. I couldn’t hear what they were saying but I like to think she opened her interview, like all great interviews, by asking his favorite Knock Knock joke. To which the proper answer is, of course, banana/banana/orange. Did you give the right answer Jimmy?

The Pensive Papis

Team Rahal driver Max Papis seems lost in thought during Friday practice for the 2001 CART race in Portland, but it is not as it appears. Seconds earlier he had been smiling and giving a thumbs up while talking to his team in a debrief, I just caught him while he was listening. On the other hand, it does I think capture some of the uncertainty and pressure of the start of a race weekend, when in a competitive series even a small mistake can have a big impact. On this weekend Max would have nothing to worry about, he won both the pole and the race.

Pat Patrick

Pat Patrick (the Patrick in Patrick Racing) watches his team during Friday practice at the 2001 CART race in Portland.

Roberto Pupo Moreno

Roberto Pupo Moreno talks to his Patrick Racing crew during Friday practice at the 2001 CART race at Portland International Raceway. Some friends in graduate school introduced me to open-wheel racing in the mid-90’s near the end of Pupo’s Formula One career, he was so nice and unassuming I was pleased that not only did he then go on to race in Indycars, but I got a chance to see him a couple of times at the races in Portland. He’d finish second in the rainy race that Sunday.

Pop Up

A harbor seal pops up in the surf to take one last look at me before swimming away in the gentle surf at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area in Newport, Oregon.

Two and the Infinite One

Two people watch the endless crashing of waves against the rocky shore of Seal Rock State Park on the Oregon coast. The waves were pretty calm on this day but they can get pretty intense here. They seemed pretty confident that a giant sea monster wouldn’t rise from the ocean and swallow them whole. I kept my distance.

Sculpin

A sculpin is nearly hidden in the jumble of objects in the shallows of a tide pool at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area in Newport, Oregon. These small sculpin species will spend their lives in the tide pools, with birds and larger fish their primary predators.

Homes for Urchins

Purple sea urchins sit in the depressions they’ve carved over time into the tide pool, minimizing the force of the waves as the tide comes in and out. I came across these urchins in 2004 on a sunny day at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area in Newport, Oregon. The picture below is a different set of urchins but taken on the same day, I’ve posted this one before but it was years ago.